Clog prevention in a gas extraction system of a pyrolytic reactor

ABSTRACT

One variation of a method for converting tires into pyrolytic byproducts includes: in a pyrolytic reactor, thermally depolymerizing a volume of rubber extracted from tires within an inert atmosphere into pyrolytic synthetic gas and solid carbonaceous material; within a centrifuge, removing from the pyrolytic synthetic gas residual solid carbonaceous material carried over from the pyrolytic reactor into the exhaust gas channel; within a vapor-liquid separator, separating vapor-phase pyrolytic synthetic gas from liquid-phase synthetic gas; depositing the liquid-phase synthetic gas into a heavy oil tank to form a cut of heavy oil in liquid phase; condensing a first portion of the vapor-phase synthetic gas in a light oil condenser to form a cut of light oil in liquid-phase; combusting a second portion of vapor-phase gas within a combustor; and recycling a third portion pyrolytic synthetic gas into heating elements within the pyrolytic reactor to heat the pyrolytic reactor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/778,214, filed on 11 Dec. 2018, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by this reference.

This Application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 16/658,049, filed on 19 Oct. 2019, which claims benefit to: U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/748,230, filed on 19 Oct. 2018; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/778,208, filed on 11 Dec. 2018, all of which are incorporated in their entireties herein by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to the field of pyrolytic oil and pyrolytic synthetic gas production in a pyrolysis system, and more specifically to a new and useful method for preventing clogs in a pyrolytic synthetic gas system integrated with a pyrolysis system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a method of one implementation of a system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation in accordance with one implementation of the system;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation in accordance with one implementation of the system;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation in accordance with one implementation of the system;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart representation of one implementation of the system;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart representation of one implementation of the system;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart representation of one implementation of the system;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart representation of one implementation of the system;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart representation of one implementation of the system;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are flowchart representations of one implementation of the system;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart representation of one implementation of the system;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart representation of one implementation of the system;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart representation of one implementation of the system; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart representation of one implementation of the system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the embodiment of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments, but rather to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use this invention.

1. System & Method

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a method S100 for converting tires 101 into pyrolytic oil 197 and pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 includes: in a pyrolytic reactor 110, thermally depolymerizing a volume of rubber within an inert atmosphere into a set of pyrolytic byproducts including pyrolytic synthetic gas 199; extracting the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 from the pyrolytic reactor 110; within a vapor-liquid separator 142 (i.e., “flash drum” or “knock-out pot”), separating vapor-phase pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 from liquid-phase synthetic gas; depositing the liquid-phase synthetic gas into a heavy oil tank 192 to form a cut of heavy oil in liquid phase; condensing a first portion of the vapor-phase synthetic gas in a light oil condenser 160 to form a cut of light oil 191 in liquid-phase; decanting excess water from the cut of light oil 191; combusting a second portion of vapor-phase pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 within a combustor 170; and recycling a portion of the vapor-phase pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 through a gas recycling channel 135 to heat heating elements 112 within the pyrolytic reactor 110.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, a system 100 configured to execute the method S100 includes a pyrolysis channel configured to accept rubber 105 extracted from waste tires 101; a heating element 112 configured to heat a portion (e.g., a bottom) of the pyrolysis channel and induce thermal decomposition (pyrolysis) of the rubber 105 within the pyrolysis channel as the rubber 105 translates within the pyrolysis channel under vacuum forming pyrolytic byproducts including pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 and carbonaceous solid material; a gas channel configured to direct the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 out of the channel at an exit velocity at which the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 carries over less carbonaceous solid material than a threshold mass of carbonaceous solid material, the gas channel including a reamer 132 configured to translate through the gas channel intermittently at an interval to remove build-up of the carbonaceous solid material and condensed pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 on internal walls of the exhaust gas channel 130 and prevent oil fouling, the exhaust gas channel 130 of a length corresponding to a desired residence time of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 proportional to a time to cool the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 to a particular temperature prior to exiting the exhaust gas channel 130, the time to cool dependent on a velocity of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 within the channel and a composition of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199; and a condenser 160 configured to condense a portion of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 into liquid-phase oil.

2. Applications

As shown in FIG. 1, a system 100 can be configured to execute the method S100 to: convert rubber 105 (e.g. scrap tires 101, industrial rubber) and/or plastics into pyrolytic byproducts, such as pyrolytic oil 197 pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 (or “syngas”), and/or recovered carbonaceous material (i.e., “reclaimed carbon black” or “recovered carbon black”). The system 100 can implement the method S100 to maintain product quality over target production durations—despite variability in inputs (i.e., feedstock), parameters, and conditions—by limiting clogging and/or other disruptions to continuous production longevity of the system 100. Additionally, the system 100 can maximize production uptime (i.e., duration over which the pyrolytic reactor 110 processes rubber 105 and produces pyrolytic byproducts); maximize throughput of rubber 105 through the pyrolytic reactor 110; and/or maximize output of pyrolytic oil 197, pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, and/or recovered carbon black from the system 100.

The pyrolytic reactor 110 is configured to: convert rubber 105 extracted from waste tires 101 to reclaimed carbon black 195, pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, and pyrolytic oil 197 through thermal decomposition of the rubber 105 under vacuum (i.e., pyrolysis); capture and direct the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 produced during pyrolysis to be condensed and filtered in a gas condensation system coupled to the pyrolytic reactor 110; and prevent clogs 155 caused by carbon carry-over and oil fouling on walls of the pyrolytic reactor 110 and exhaust gas channel 130, thereby reducing maintenance and reducing impingement of hot inflammable gases within the pyrolytic reactor 110 and yielding high-quality pyrolytic oil 197, pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, and reclaimed carbon black 195. Generally, the pyrolytic reactor 110 is configured to reduce velocity of pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 exiting the pyrolytic reactor no, thereby reducing carbon carry-over from the channel into the exhaust gas channel 130.

Generally, the system 100 can thermally decompose polymeric materials, like rubber 105, into carbonaceous byproducts. In particular, rubber 105—such as scrap tires 101, waste tires 101, industrial rubber, and/or other rubber products—can be input or conveyed into a pyrolysis channel within the pyrolytic reactor 110. A conveyor within the pyrolytic reactor 110 can translate the rubber 105 over a series of heating elements 112 (e.g., electric and/or gas heating coils) within the pyrolysis channel while the pyrolysis channel evacuates into a vacuum with a pressure less than atmospheric pressure and/or pumps an inert gas (e.g., Nitrogen or “N2”) into the pyrolysis channel. In this inert atmosphere, the rubber 105 progressively transforms into solid carbonaceous material 195 and pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 in vapor-phase as the rubber 105 translates along the length of the pyrolysis channel. The pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can then exit the pyrolytic reactor 110 through an exhaust gas channel 130. An entrance of the exhaust gas channel 130 can be arranged at a location along the pyrolytic reactor 110 to limit carryover of solid carbonaceous material 195 into the exhaust gas channel 130. (Carryover of solid carbonaceous material 195 can accumulate on the walls of the exhaust gas channel 130, which can result in clogging of the exhaust gas channel 130. Clogs 155 can cause build-up of pressure of high-temperature and combustible pyrolytic synthetic gas 199.) Additionally, the exhaust gas channel 130 can be situated along the pyrolytic reactor 110 such that the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 exits the pyrolytic reactor 110 at an exit velocity that limits carryover of solid carbonaceous material 195 into the exhaust gas channel 130. Over a length of the exhaust gas channel 130, a portion of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can cool and condense onto walls of the exhaust gas channel 130, causing buildup of material on the walls, which can further cause clogs 155. To prevent clogging, the exhaust gas channel 130 can include a reamer 132 configured to, at a specified interval (e.g., every minute or every fifteen minutes), scrape walls of the exhaust gas channel 130 to remove buildup and prevent oil fouling. The exhaust gas channel 130 can be of a length corresponding to a desired residence time of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 within the exhaust gas channel 130. The residence time of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 is defined as a function of the length of the exhaust gas channel 130 and a time to cool the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 to a particular temperature (e.g., from 800 degrees Fahrenheit to 500 degrees Fahrenheit) prior to exiting the exhaust gas channel 130. The time to cool is dependent on a velocity of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 across the length of the exhaust gas channel 130 and the composition of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 (e.g., Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide, Methane, C2H₄, C2H6, Carbon Monoxide, and/or C₃H8). Then a portion of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can condense—in a condenser 160—into liquid-phase oil (e.g., light oil 191 and/or heavy oil cuts of pyrolytic oil 197).

Roughly 400 million tires enter landfills each year in the United States. Due to limited availability of recycling processes for these tires, landfills are filled with an ever-increasing number of tires. Existing tire recycling processes typically extract and recycle a small percentage of available recyclable products within tires 101. To facilitate recycling of tires 101 and limit overall waste generated as a result of recycling tires 101, the system 100 can implement the method S100 to extract and recycle carbonaceous materials (i.e., organic material that includes elemental carbon and/or hydrocarbons) from tires 101 and/or scrap rubber to pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 and/or pyrolytic oil 197. Pyrolytic oil 197 can be distilled into multiple cuts of oil, including a heavy-cut of oil 192 that can be used in marine turbomachinery applications and a light-cut of oil 191 that can be used for lubrication and/or fuel in turbomachinery applications.

The system 100 can also be implemented to control quality, quantity, and consistency of products output by the system 100 by controlling and implementing methods—like method 100—to control the composition of rubber 105 that enter the system 100 despite general variability in tire composition across the tire manufacturing industry. Generally, tires 101 include a mixture of rubber and other polymers, various grades of virgin carbon black, steel 103, nylon fiber 106, and other materials such as curing agents (e.g., zinc oxide), dispersion agents, and other rubber additives. Composition of tires 101 varies significantly amongst manufacturers, tire type (e.g., consumer tires, agricultural tires, mining tires, over-the-road (or “OTR”) tires), country of manufacture, and intended use condition (e.g., winter tires). For example, tires manufactured and sold in Europe tend to include higher silica (silicon dioxide or “SiO₂”) content than tires manufactured and sold in the United States. Additionally, the shredding system can separate tire rubber from other components of the tire, such as steel 103 (i.e., “steel wire”) and nylon fiber 106. Due to bonding among the tire rubber 105, the steel 103, and the nylon fiber 106, residue of steel 103 and nylon may remain bonded to the tire rubber 105 and, thus, may enter the pyrolytic reactor 110 and remain present in the recovered carbonaceous material (“rCB”), pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, and/or pyrolytic oil 197 output by the pyrolytic reactor 110.

Some rubber additives may adversely affect the performance and/or applications of the pyrolytic byproducts, while the same rubber additives may positively affect performance and applicability other pyrolytic byproducts. For example, sulfur may negatively impact the use of pyrolytic oil 197 due to the strong smell of sulfur dioxide; however, sulfur may positively affect the performance of reclaimed carbon black in rubber applications that require short scorch and/or cure times. Therefore, the pyrolytic reactor no can be configured to preferentially deposit majority of sulfur extracted from the rubber 105 into the recovered carbonaceous material and remove excess sulfur from the pyrolytic oil 197 and/or pyrolytic synthetic gas 199.

Over long production times (e.g., 264 hours continuous operation), a large volume of rubber 105 passes through the pyrolytic reactor 110 (e.g., in excess of 2000 pounds per hour). As described below, the rubber 105 can vary in composition widely (up to 40% variation in composition by weight) across production duration. To maintain consistency of select pyrolytic byproducts (i.e., pyrolytic oil 197, pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, and/or reclaimed carbon black), the system can control processing parameters—such as temperature and pressure—as well as in-process mechanisms (e.g., wet and dry gas scrubbing, in-line centrifuging, filtration, and distillation) to control composition of final products output by the system.

During long production times include a startup (or “warmup”) period over which pyrolytic byproducts output by the system 100 may exhibit inconsistent quality, composition, and/or yield rate. Following shut down of the system, the system may be cleaned that may yield different conditions at startup than exist during steady state operation of the system. During the startup period, system conditions (including slight buildup of material on walls of the exhaust gas channel 130 and/or pyrolytic reactor 110, internal system pressure and temperatures, and internal gas composition) can gradually reach a steady state at which system can maintain control parameters to maintain system function through production.

Generally, increased time and/or higher pyrolysis temperatures within the pyrolytic reactor no may yield overheated recovered carbonaceous material with little surface activity; additionally, increased time and/or higher pyrolysis temperatures may induce evaporation, yielding high-purity pyrolytic oil 197 with little sediment and/or particulate. Likewise, less time and/or lower pyrolysis temperatures within the pyrolytic reactor no may yield recovered carbonaceous material with increased surface activity and poorly-separated, highly viscous pyrolytic oil 197. However, the system can implement in-process steps to balance quality of pyrolytic oil 197 and recovered carbonaceous material and yield high-quality byproducts from the system. For example, the system 100 can maintain a pyrolysis temperature less than a maximum temperature (and maximum pressure) at which the carbonaceous material burns and greater than a minimum temperature at which pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 at which a target output percentage of pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 (e.g., 20% by weight of total mass output from the pyrolytic reactor 110) evaporates. Thus, the system 100 can control mass percentage of each output and, therefore, the system 100 can control the composition of each output stream.

Generally, to maintain high quality pyrolytic oil 197, the system maintains a consistent flow and composition of pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 through an oil separation system (including a spray tower 140, gas or “dry” scrubber 150, and condenser 160). Clogs 155 (or “build-up”) within the exhaust gas channel 130 can disrupt flow of pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, which can cause: the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 to foul on the walls of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, inconsistent gas evaporation within the pyrolytic reactor 110, and inconsistent output of pyrolytic oil 197. Therefore, the system can be configured to prevent clogging and/or disruption of flow of pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 and pyrolytic oil 197 through the system 100.

Pyrolytic oil 197 and pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 are two products that can be extracted from tire rubber 105 during pyrolysis. Other materials that can be extracted and recycled from waste and/or scrap tires 101 can include reclaimed carbonaceous material (i.e., reclaimed carbon black), solvents, steel 103, nylon fiber 106, etc. Reclaimed carbonaceous material is a carbonaceous petroleum-derived material, like virgin carbon black, extracted from recycled rubber materials, such as car tires, truck tires, and/or other tires during pyrolysis.

3. Feedstock

Each tire and/or rubber segment that enters the pyrolytic reactor no can contain multiple grades of carbon black, wherein each grade is defined by the surface area of a particle of carbon black. For example, rubber 105 can include various grades of virgin carbon black, such as N100, N330, N660, N762, or N900. Each of these grades is defined by an average particle size of carbon within the virgin carbon black grade. Additionally, rubber 105 extracted from tires 101 can include other materials, such as Silica (i.e., Silicon Dioxide), zinc oxide, sulfur, desiccants, etc. These other materials can be carried over into the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 and pyrolytic oil 197 output by the pyrolytic reactor 110. Therefore, composition of the rubber 105 that enters the pyrolytic reactor 110 can directly affect composition of products output by the pyrolytic reactor 110. In this manner, the system 100 can control the composition of tire rubber 105 in order to control the composition and performance characteristics of products output by the pyrolytic reactor 110.

While the systems and methods described herein relate to recycling of tire rubber 105, the method S100 can be implemented to recycle other polymeric materials, such as industrial rubber (e.g., industrial hoses, belts, commercial roofing), elastomers, and plastics (e.g., black or clear plastic bottle). Additionally, the system 100 can include any other components or systems configured to depolymerize polymeric materials, such as tire rubber 105, in addition to or in replacement of the pyrolytic reactor 110.

In one implementation shown in FIGS. 11, 12, 13, and 14, the system 100 can include a shredding system configured to splice a set of tires 101 selected from a group including an agricultural tire, a commercial tire, and a passenger tire into a volume rubber segments 105 including a set of virgin carbon black grades, a set of rubber polymers, and/or a set of rubber additives. Generally, the shredding system can be configured to receive a feed of waste tires 101 (e.g., from cars, trucks, tractors, other agricultural vehicles), separate constituent materials of the waste tires, and remove a volume of rubber 105 from steel 103 and other materials (e.g., nylon or synthetic fibers 106) within the waste tires 101, splice the volume of rubber 105 into segments (or “chips”), and deliver the volume of rubber 105 to a pyrolytic reactor no for pyrolysis as described below. The system 100 can include the shredding system (or feedstock processing system) configured to shred and pre-process waste tires 101 to deliver reclaimed tire rubber 105 extracted from waste tires 101 and separated from other materials within waste tires 101 to a pyrolytic reactor no for pyrolysis. The volume of rubber 105 can be shredded to a size optimized for substantially uniform decomposition during pyrolysis. Additionally, the system 100 is configured to deliver a particular composition of feedstock (tire rubber 105) to the pyrolytic reactor no to produce a particular composition of solid carbonaceous material 195, pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, and/or pyrolytic oil 197.

In particular, the system 100 can include a conveyor configured to deliver a feed of (waste) tires 101 (i.e., the set of tires 101) to a primary shredder 107. The set of tires 101 can include a proportioned mixture of car tires, truck (i.e., commercial, over the road, or “OTR”) tires, and other tires, such as agricultural tires and mining tires. Generally, tires 101 include organic (or carbonaceous) materials and inorganic (or non-carbonaceous) materials. The organic materials can include carbon black and polymer(s) from the tire rubber 105. In particular, carbon black in the volume of rubber 105 can include a multitude of carbon black grades varying in surface areas, particle diameters, and particle distributions. For example, the volume of rubber 105 can include a set of carbon black grades extracted from tire treads (e.g., N100), from tire sidewalls (e.g., N660), and from tire carcasses (e.g., N900). The inorganic materials can include a set of rubber additives, such as zinc oxide, sulfur, silicon dioxide (i.e., Silica) curing agents (e.g., TBBS, MBS), dispersion agents, etc. extracted from different parts of the tire, each part of the tire including different concentrations of the foregoing rubber additives.

In one implementation, the set of tires 101 can be selected to include a proportioned mixture (or “ratio”) of car tires, truck tires, and other tires defining a feed of tire rubber 105 with a particular (composition) ratio, such as carbon to sulfur content ratio. In this implementation, the ratio of carbon to sulfur content can be optimized to yield pyrolytic oil 197 that includes less than a threshold percentage of sulfur (e.g., less than fifteen percent by weight). Generally, in oil applications, sulfur can yield an unpleasant smell and can be regulated by government entities to avoid air pollution when combusted. To avoid said smell, sulfur content can be limited. In one example, the system 100 can shred the proportioned mixture of tires 101 including five passenger tires 101 and one truck tire into the volume of tire rubber 105. In this example, the proportioned mixture can be selected to limit sulfur content that enters the pyrolytic reactor 110 in the volume of rubber 105 to less than 20% of the pyrolytic output of the pyrolytic reactor by weight, thereby limiting the sulfur content of the pyrolytic oil 197 output by the pyrolytic reactor 110, as described below. In another example, the system 100 can shred the set of tires 101 including two passenger tires and one truck tire to produce a higher sulfur content recovered carbonaceous material that may be desirable in rubber applications in which a lower scorch time is desirable. In another implementation, the set of tires 101 can be selected from the group including the agricultural tire, the commercial tire, and the passenger tire according to a tire ratio defined by a threshold percentage (e.g., 1%, 5%, 15%, or 20%) of inorganic materials (e.g., zinc oxide, sulfur, silica, and other non-carbonaceous materials) within the (end-product) pyrolytic oil 197 and/or gas output by the pyrolytic reactor 110. For example, truck (“OTR”) tires typically contain low silica content (<5% by weight); and passenger car tires can include either low silica content (e.g., 10% by weight) or can include high silica content (e.g., ˜15% by weight) to reduce rolling resistance and improve vehicular efficiency and gas mileage. In this example, a set of tires 101 can be selected to limit silica content within the volume of rubber 105 to less than 5%. Due to the variability in silica content of the feedstock, the pyrolytic reactor 110 is configured to accept and process varying amounts of silica. The set of tires 101 can be selected by any other means and for any other desired effect. Generally, composition of the set of tires 101 directly impacts chemical composition of the solid carbonaceous material 195, the pyrolytic oil 197 and/or the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199.

As shown in FIGS. 11, 12, and 14, the shredding system can include a primary shredder 107, which is configured to detach rubber 105 in the feed of waste tires 101 from steel 103 and other materials within the feed of waste tires 101. Generally, the primary shredder 107 can include two rotational blades, each blade adjacent with each other blade. The blades can be positioned such that as a first blade rotates, a cutting surface of the first blade passes a cutting surface of a second blade. Therefore, material situated between the first blade and the second blade can be sheared due to the rotational movement of the first blade and the second blade. As the sets of rotational blades rotate, the blades shear (or cleave) materials into discrete sections (or segments). The system 100 can feed the set of tires 101 into the primary shredder 107, which can cleave whole tires 101 into segments. During primary shredding, the primary shredder 107 can separate rubber 105 from steel 103 and textile fiber 106, thereby removing a portion of the inorganic content of the set of tires 101 from the volume of rubber 105.

Additionally or alternatively, the primary shredder 107 can also cleave the rubber 105 into pieces of a target size configured to break down within pyrolytic reactor 110. For example, the primary shredder 107 can cleave the set of tires 101 into granules, strips, and/or chips with a maximum width of one inch, a maximum height of one inch, and a maximum length of one inch. However, the primary shredder 107 can splice the volume of rubber 105 into splices of any particular volume, maximum dimension, and/or surface area.

In one variation shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, the system wo can also include a secondary shredder 109 configured to shred the tire rubber 105 into a volume of rubber 105. In this variation, the secondary shredder 109 can shred the volume of rubber 105 spliced by the primary shredder 107 into smaller segments of tire rubber 105 of a desired surface area, volume, and/or maximum dimension (e.g., length or width) following separation from other components of the set of tires 101 (e.g., steel 103 wire and textile fiber 106) in the primary shredder 107. The surface area can be selected such that the volume of rubber 105 pyrolyzes substantially evenly into a solid carbonaceous material 195, pyrolytic oil 197, and the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 during thermal decomposition (i.e., pyrolysis). Generally, the secondary shredder 109 can include two rotational blades, each blade adjacent with each other blade. The blades can be positioned such that as a first blade rotates, a cutting surface of the first blade passes a cutting surface of a second blade. Therefore, material situated between the first blade and the second blade can be sheared due to the rotational movement of the first blade and the second blade. As the sets of rotational blades rotate, the blades shear (or cleave) materials into discrete sections (or segments). A distance between the blades defines the size of the tire rubber segments 105 spliced by the secondary shredder 109. For example, the volume of rubber 105 can include splices of tire rubber segments 105 one inch wide, two to three inches long, and approximately one-half inch thick. As described below, when oversized tire rubber segments 105 enter the pyrolytic reactor 110, the volume of rubber 105 can remain partially (or incompletely) pyrolyzed and/or a portion of the volume of rubber 105 can be overheated and converted to char. In another example, the secondary shredder 109 can cleave the set of tires 101 into granules, strips, and/or chips with a maximum width of one inch, a maximum height of one inch, and a maximum length of one inch.

Alternatively, in one implementation shown in FIG. 13, the primary shredder 107 and secondary shredder 109 can be coupled and/or integrated such that the primary shredder 107 can directly feed the volume of rubber 105, separated from other components (e.g., steel 103 and nylon), into the secondary shredder 109, where the volume of rubber 105 is spliced into segments of a form factor (e.g., pellets, cubes, or chips) configured to pyrolyze evenly and completely within the pyrolytic reactor 110. In the foregoing implementations, the primary and/or secondary shredder 109 can cleave the volume of rubber 105 into substantially rectangular blocks (e.g., 1 inch by 1 inch by 2 inches), cubes, spheres, pyramids, and/or any other shape. Additionally or alternatively, the secondary shredder 109 can also remove textile fiber 106 (i.e., nylon fiber 106) from the volume of rubber 105.

The volume of rubber 105 can then be dispersed into a magnetic separator shown in FIGURE ii, which can separate magnetic materials (e.g., steel 103) from non-magnetic materials (e.g., rubber 105). The magnetic separator can function to limit introduction of steel 103 and other inorganic, magnetic materials to the pyrolytic reactor 110. Magnetic materials extracted from the rubber 105 fed into the magnetic separator can be fed back into the shredding system and/or can be distributed into a steel 103 cleaner, which can further clean the steel 103 and extract remaining rubber 105 residue from the steel 103. The rubber 105 residue can then be fed into the pyrolytic reactor 110 or back into the shredding system for secondary and/or tertiary shredding.

Alternatively, the system 100 can accept tire chips (i.e. a volume of tire rubber 105) shredded on a different site by an offsite manufacturer. In this variation, the system 100 may fail to closely control the composition of the volume of rubber 105 as the system 100 accepts only the volume of rubber 105 selected by the offsite (third-party) manufacturer. In this variation, the volume of rubber 105 may include a random or proportioned mixture of various types of tires 101—the composition of which the system 100 exerts little control. However, the volume of rubber 105 may not be optimized to yield a particular composition or performance of the pyrolytic oil 197 derived from the volume of rubber 105 when implemented in rubber 105 or plastics applications. For example, the offsite manufacturer may select tires 101 according to a specified ratio of commercial to agricultural tires. However, the offsite manufacturer may fail to consider, test, or select other elements critical to the composition of the (resulting) carbonaceous material, such as silica content, carbon black grades included in the tires 101, etc. Therefore, chemical composition and performance of the pyrolytic oil 197 may vary (positively or negatively) according to the composition of the volume of rubber 105 selected by the offsite manufacturer. To control chemical composition and performance of the pyrolytic oil 197, the system 100 may preferably splice whole tires 101 into the volume of rubber 105 in order to verify a feedstock composition that yields a pyrolytic oil 197 with a particular chemical composition and/or performance. Generally, a composition of the volume of rubber 105 can be selected to yield any other composition of carbonaceous material following pyrolysis.

4. Pyrolytic Reactor

As shown in FIG. 10A, the system 100 can include a pyrolytic reactor no configured to thermally depolymerize (or decompose) the volume of rubber 105 within an inert atmosphere (e.g., in the absence of oxygen) into a set of pyrolytic byproducts including pyrolytic oil 197, pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, and a solid carbonaceous material 195 including agglomerates of carbonaceous aggregates. In particular, the pyrolytic reactor 110 is configured to limit combustion of the volume of rubber 105 by imposing a vacuum within the pyrolytic reactor 110 and substantially reducing the volume of oxygen present within the pyrolytic reactor no as heating elements 112 within the pyrolytic reactor 110 heat the rubber segments 105. Generally, the pyrolytic reactor 110 is configured to heat the rubber segments 105 (i.e. shredded waste tires 101) to induce depolymerization of the rubber segments 105, thereby yielding a solid carbonaceous residue (i.e., solid carbonaceous material 195 or reclaimed carbon black), pyrolytic oil 197, and pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 (e.g., “syngas” or synthesis gas including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and other gas-phase fuels).

In particular, rubber 105 can enter a pyrolysis channel within the pyrolytic reactor 110. A conveyor within the pyrolytic reactor 110 can translate the rubber 105 over a series of heating elements 112 within the pyrolysis channel while the pyrolysis channel evacuates into a vacuum with a pressure less than atmospheric pressure and/or an inert gas (e.g., Nitrogen or “N2”) is pumped into the pyrolysis channel. In this inert atmosphere, the rubber 105 progressively transforms into solid carbonaceous material 195 and pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 in vapor-phase.

In one implementation, the volume of rubber 105 can be fed into the pyrolytic reactor 110 at a particular feed rate (e.g., 2000 pounds per hour) defined by a threshold capacity of the pyrolytic reactor 110 (e.g., a maximum feed rate, volumetric capacity of the pyrolytic reactor 110), a desired production rate (e.g., 600 liters of pyrolytic oil 197 produced per hour or 800 liters of pyrolytic synthetic gas 199), and/or a desired composition of the solid carbonaceous material 195 and/or pyrolytic oil 197.

As shown in FIG. 10A, in one implementation, the pyrolytic reactor 110 can include a continuous feed reactor configured to continuously pyrolyze the volume of rubber 105 as the tire rubber 105 translates along a length of the continuous feed reactor. In particular, the continuous feed reactor can include heating elements 112 adjacent a bottom wall of the pyrolysis channel and interspersed along a length of pyrolytic reactor 110. The pyrolytic reactor can also include a retort (i.e., a feed screw) configured to rotationally push the volume of rubber 105 between an inlet and an outlet of the pyrolytic reactor 110. Additionally, the retort can be configured to scrape or closely track internal walls of the pyrolytic reactor 110 to limit buildup of pyrolyzed and/or partially pyrolyzed tire rubber 105 on internal surfaces of the reactor. Buildup of partially pyrolyzed tire rubber 105 can overheat and become “over-pyrolyzed” (i.e., “overcooked”) when left static on internal walls of the reactor; when tire rubber 105 is over-pyrolyzed, surface area and/or surface activity of particles of the recovered carbonaceous material may be reduced, limiting reinforcing properties of the recovered carbonaceous material when implemented in rubber applications.

Additionally or alternatively, the pyrolytic reactor 110 can include a batch pyrolytic reactor 110 configured to accept the volume of rubber 105 and pyrolyze the volume of rubber 105 over a time window at a stationary location as shown in FIGURE 10B.

The pyrolytic reactor 110 can also output pyrolytic oil 197 and pyrolytic synthetic gas 199. The pyrolytic oil 197 and the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can include concentrations of sulfur and other materials extracted from the tire rubber 105 during pyrolysis. In one implementation, the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can include residual carbonaceous material that can be carried over into a gas extraction system that can be coupled to the pyrolytic reactor no. Due to high velocities of the volume of gas upon exiting the pyrolytic reactor 110, some carbonaceous material can be blown or otherwise carried into the gas extraction system by high-velocity pyrolytic synthetic gas 199. To prevent clogging of the gas extraction system due to build-up of carbonaceous material within the gas extraction system, the gas extraction system can include a filter situated between the pyrolytic reactor 110 and the gas extraction system as described below. The filter can be configured to capture residual carbonaceous material before the carbonaceous material enters a main body of the gas extraction system downstream from the filter. The filter can be changed and/or cleaned at intervals to prevent clogging of the filter. If the filter were to clog, a clog 155 would limit the volume of gas from escaping the pyrolytic reactor no, causing a buildup of combustible gas (and pressure) within the pyrolytic reactor no. Similarly, the volume of oil can include residual carbonaceous material be carried over into an oil extraction system that can be coupled to the pyrolytic reactor no. The oil extraction system can include a filter configured to capture carbonaceous material prior to entry into a downstream portion of the oil extraction system, which can include an oil condensation system with spray nozzles as described below.

5. Gas Extraction

In one implementation shown in FIG. 2, the system 100 can include a (exhaust) gas channel configured to direct the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 out of the (pyrolysis) channel at an exit velocity that induces carryover of less carbonaceous solid material than a threshold mass of carbonaceous solid material. The gas channel can be of a length corresponding to a desired residence time of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 proportional to a time to cool the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 to a particular temperature prior to exiting the gas channel, the time to cool dependent on a velocity of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 within the channel and a composition of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199. Generally, the gas channel (e.g., sixty feet long), can coupled to the pyrolytic reactor 110 and direct hot, volatile pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 out of the pyrolysis reactor toward cooling and/or condensation systems that can progressively condense the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 into pyrolytic oil 197 and/or other rubber 105-derived fuels (e.g., tire-derived fuel).

As shown in FIG. 2, the gas channel can include a reamer 132 configured to scrape and/or closely track internal walls of the gas channel at an interval (e.g., every hour or every fifteen minutes) to remove build-up of the carbonaceous solid material and condense pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 within the gas channel and prevent oil fouling.

In one implementation shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 can include a gas channel coupled to the pyrolytic reactor no at a location along the length of the pyrolytic reactor no defined by a desired gas exit velocity from the pyrolytic reactor 110. As shown in FIG. 4, the gas exit velocity can correspond to an exit velocity at which the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 carries less than a threshold mass, volume, and/or percentage of solid carbonaceous material 195 (e.g., reclaimed carbon black) produced during pyrolysis is carried into the gas channel. For example, the gas exit velocity can correspond to a velocity of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 at which less than 10% by weight of solid carbonaceous material 195 is carried into the gas channel. In this implementation, the gas channel can be coupled to the pyrolytic reactor no at a position near a middle of the length of the pyrolytic reactor no proximal a location where rubber segments 105 are incompletely pyrolyzed (e.g., 50% pyrolyzed) into solid carbonaceous material 195 and pyrolytic oil 197). At this location, less powder-form solid carbonaceous material 195 resides; therefore high-velocity gas passing over the incompletely pyrolyzed solid carbonaceous material 195 will be less likely to transfer solid carbonaceous material 195 into the gas channel due to lower percentage of powder-form solid carbonaceous material 195 within the pyrolysis channel. Pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 generated downstream (further along the length of the pyrolytic reactor no) from the gas channel entrance can travel opposite the direction of travel of the rubber segments 105 and newly-formed solid carbonaceous material 195 to escape through the gas channel.

In one implementation shown in FIG. 2, the pyrolytic reactor 110 can include multiple small viae dispersed along the length of the pyrolysis channel for gas to escape from the pyrolysis channel into the exhaust gas channel 130. In this implementation, the channel can be filled (e.g., close to completely full) with rubber 105 that translates along a length of the channel. As the rubber 105 translates along the length of the pyrolytic reactor 110, heating elements 112 dispersed along the walls of the channel heat the rubber 105 and a pump evacuates air from the channel, thereby inducing thermal decomposition of the rubber 105 under vacuum. In this implementation, the channel exhibits a high surface area to volume ratio, thereby causing convective heat transfer between the channel and ambient air surrounding the pyrolytic system. To maintain heat and consistent (and approximately uniform) temperatures within the channel, a multitude of heating elements 112 are dispersed at intervals (e.g., every 1 meter) along the wall of the channel. In this implementation, relatively high-density gas produced exits the channel at a relatively low temperature (e.g., 400 degrees Fahrenheit) and low velocity, which can reduce carryover and can cause oil fouling on walls of the channel and walls of the exhaust gas channel 130.

In another implementation shown in FIG. 3, the pyrolytic reactor 110 can include a shorter, wider channel (e.g., thirty feet long) over which rubber 105 fed into the pyrolytic reactor 110 is heated from a first temperature (e.g., 400 degrees Fahrenheit) at a first point in the channel to a second, higher temperature (e.g., 1000 degrees Fahrenheit) at a second point in the channel. Coincident the second point, the exhaust gas channel 130 couples to the channel. Additionally, at this second point, a minimum percentage of solid carbonaceous material 195 lies within the channel (i.e., a high percentage of the rubber 105 has transformed into solid carbonaceous material at the second point). In this implementation, gas produced during thermal decomposition of the rubber 105 accelerates within the channel between the first point and the second point to a high velocity; therefore, gas exits the channel through the exhaust channel at a high velocity. Gas traveling at high velocities carries more reclaimed carbon black—especially smaller aggregates of carbon black—more readily than gas traveling at lower velocities as shown in FIG. 4. Therefore, in this implementation, solid carbonaceous material 195 is conveyed from the channel into the exhaust channel more readily than in systems in which gas exits the pyrolysis channel at lower velocities.

As shown in FIG. 1, another implementation of the pyrolytic reactor 110 can include a short, wide channel (e.g., five feet long) with heating elements 112 distributed along a bottom surface of the pyrolysis channel. In this implementation, the pyrolytic reactor 110 allows gas produced due to thermal decomposition of the rubber 105 to cool while limiting contact with walls of the pyrolysis channel and exhaust gas channel 130 to limit fouling on walls of the pyrolysis channel or the exhaust gas channel 130. Therefore, in this implementation, gas can exit the pyrolysis channel to the exhaust gas channel 130 at a lower velocity, thereby reducing carbon carry-over from the pyrolysis channel to the exhaust gas channel 130 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In addition, the exhaust channel connects to the pyrolysis channel at a point where material within the pyrolysis channel is solid (i.e., still rubber 105) rather than at a point further along the pyrolysis channel where material within the pyrolysis channel is powdered carbon that is easily conveyed between the pyrolysis channel and the exhaust channel. Contrary motion of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 against motion of the rubber and solid carbonaceous material 195 may further reduce carryover of the solid carbonaceous material 195 into the exhaust gas channel 130.

Generally, length of the exhaust gas channel 130 can also correspond to a target residence time (or duration) of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 within the exhaust gas channel 130 prior to entry into a condensation system. Residence time depends on the (average) velocity of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 within the exhaust gas channel 130, a target exit temperature (e.g., <500 degrees Fahrenheit) of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 when the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 exits the channel, and the threshold carryover limit of solid carbonaceous material 195.

6. Clog Prevention

To prevent clogging due to buildup of solid carbonaceous material and/or viscous liquid—derived from byproducts of pyrolysis—within the pyrolytic reactor 110 and/or exhaust gas channel 130, the system 100 can implement the method S100 to reduce carryover of solid material into the exhaust gas channel 130, reduce buildup of accumulated solid material (e.g., plaques) on walls and at crucial junctions within with system 100, increase filtration of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, and/or improve access to internal channel modules for cleaning. Generally, buildup of solid and/or viscous liquid material on walls of the exhaust gas channel 130 and/or in the pyrolytic reactor no can cause constriction, impingement, and/or blockage of high-temperature (e.g., greater than 800 degrees Fahrenheit) and combustible pyrolytic synthetic gas 199. If the exhaust gas channel 130 is blocked, pressure of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can rise to a state in which walls of the exhaust gas channel 130 can fail. Exothermic reactions between the (combustible) pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 and ambient air (with oxygen) can occur. Furthermore, constriction of flow paths within the exhaust gas channel 130 can cause increases in velocity of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 within the exhaust gas channel 130, which can increase carryover of solid carbonaceous material 195 within the exhaust gas channel 130 and reduce residence time of the pyrolytic synthetic gas in the exhaust gas channel 130. Reduced residence time may lead to insufficient time for the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 to cool prior to entry into a condensation system and/or flare (i.e., combustor 170), which may damage downstream components of the system (e.g., the condenser 170).

In one implementation shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes a reamer 132 configured to scrape the walls of the pyrolysis channel and/or the exhaust gas channel 130 to prevent build-up of fouled oil and/or solid carbonaceous material 195 on walls of the pyrolysis channel and/or exhaust gas channel 130. Thus, the reamer 132 functions to limit maintenance and repairs of the pyrolytic reactor 110, reduce “down-time” (i.e., periods in which the pyrolytic reactor 110 is not producing carbon), and reduce risk of failure and gas impingement within the pyrolysis channel and exhaust gas channel 130.

In another implementation, the system 100 can include a filter (and/or set of filters) positioned within the exhaust gas channel 130 to catch solid material and limit transfer of solid material downstream from the filter. Solid material and/or condensed pyrolytic oil 197 can deposit onto walls of a constricted junction within the exhaust gas channel 130 with limited cleaning access. Therefore, the filter can remove a portion of the solid material upstream from the constricted junction to slow clogging of the junction. The filter can be a manual mesh and/or wire filter of a particular guage (e.g., 40 gauge), which can be manually inserted into the exhaust gas channel 130 and removed intermittently (e.g., every two hours) for manual cleaning. To avoid disruption of production, a second filter can replace the (first) filter during cleaning. Additionally or alternatively, the filter can be an automatic filter, configured to self-clean.

In one variation, a filter heating element can be coupled to the filter to heat central portions of the filter to prevent cooling of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 as the pyrolytic synthetic gas passes through the filter. When the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 cools during passage through the filter, waxes (e.g., paraffinic wax and/or napthalenic wax) and/or viscous pyrolytic oil 197 can condense and deposit on the filter mesh, causing the filter to become blocked prematurely—prior to becoming filled and/or covered with solid carbonaceous material 195, such that the solid carbonaceous material 195 limits and/or prevents liquid and/or gas materials like pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 from passing through the filter. Filter heating elements can heat material passing through the filter to limit condensation of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 as it passes through the filter and/or keep the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 in gas and/or liquid phase.

In one variation, gas-system heating elements can be interspersed along a length of the exhaust gas channel 130 to heat the walls of the exhaust gas channel 130 and prevent deposition and/or condensation of pyrolytic oil 197 on the walls of the exhaust gas channel 130.

Additionally or alternatively, the exhaust gas channel 130 can include a lubricious coating (e.g., polytetrafluoroethylene) and/or exposed internal material that limits buildup of material on walls of the exhaust gas channel 130.

Additionally or alternatively, the system 100 can include a gas centrifuge 180 interspersed at a location along the length of the exhaust gas channel 130. The gas centrifuge 180 can be configured to spin the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 at a high angular velocity and/or acceleration; centrifugal and centripetal forces induced through angular rotation can cause higher density materials (e.g., solids) to deposit out of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, reducing content of solid material within the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199.

7. Spray Tower

As shown in FIG. 5, the system 100 can also include a spray tower 140 (i.e., a “gas-liquid contactor” and/or a “wet scrubber”) configured to discharge droplets of pyrolytic oil 197 to induce heat transfer between the (gas-phase) pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 and the pyrolytic oil 197, thereby causing the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 to cool and condense. In one implementation, the spray tower 140 can be coupled to the exhaust gas channel 130 proximal the pyrolytic reactor 110. In this implementation, the exhaust gas channel 130 can include an inlet that feeds pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 into the spray tower 140 to be cooled through a wet scrubbing process. The spray tower 140 can be coupled to the exhaust gas channel 130 between the pyrolytic reactor 110 and a gas scrubber 150 (as described below) to cool and initially filter the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 prior to entering the gas (dry) scrubber 105.

Additionally or alternatively, the spray tower 140 can cause separation of solid materials (e.g., solid carbonaceous material 195) from liquid and/or gaseous materials due to condensation of materials within the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 at disparate rates depending on their material properties (e.g., heat transfer coefficient, boiling point, flash point, density, etc.).

Generally, the spray tower 140 can be configured to induce mass and/or heat transfer between hot pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 and pyrolytic oil 197 (i.e. pyrolytic oil output by the system and recycled back to nozzles of the spray tower 140). Additionally or alternatively, the spray tower 140 can be configured for gas absorption to remove pollutants (e.g., sulfur) from the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199. The spray tower 140 can include multiple stages configured to treat and decontaminate the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 sequentially in conjunction with other filtration and/or cleaning methods described below. In one example, the spray tower 140 can be configured to desulfurize the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 in a first stage and/or remove other pollutants (e.g., nitrogen dioxide or hydrofluoric acid) in a second stage following the first stage. The spray tower 140 can include a venturi scrubber and/or any other type of wet scrubbing mechanism configured to substantially remove particulates (e.g., solid carbonaceous material 195) and/or gases from the system 100. Additionally or alternatively, the spray tower 140 can be configured to cool and/or condense the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 to recover water carried over within the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 and prepare the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 for condensation and distillation to form distilled cuts of pyrolytic oil 197.

In one implementation, the spray tower 140 can include a set of spray nozzles that discharge fluid (i.e., end-product pyrolytic oil 197 recycled through the system 100 following condensation and filtration as described below) into droplets in a particular spray pattern, such as a hollow cone spray pattern and/or full cone spray pattern. The particular spray pattern can be selected to yield a target heat transfer percentage between the droplets and gas within the spray tower 140 (i.e., smaller droplets of a particular volume of fluid yield more heat transfer than larger droplets of the particular volume due to a larger surface area to volume ratio). The droplets can be of a particular droplet diameter (e.g., between 500 and 1000 micrometers) defined by the orifice size of the spray nozzle, back pressure of the fluid within the nozzle, droplet spray pattern, and fluid exit velocity. The particular droplet diameter can correspond to a desired heat transfer percentage (e.g., 20% reduction in temperature). Additionally or alternatively, the droplet size can correspond to a spray nozzle orifice size that limits clogging of the nozzle orifice over the runtime of the spray nozzle (e.g., 100 hours of continuous operation).

Additionally, the spray nozzles can be configured to direct fluid spray toward a center of the spray tower 140 to limit discharge of fluid onto interior walls of the spray tower 140. When droplets of pyrolytic oil 197 hits the walls of the spray tower 140, the pyrolytic oil 197 can foul due to rapid cooling of the pyrolytic oil 197.

8. Gas Scrubber

The system 100 can include a dry gas scrubber 150 (and/or a plurality of gas scrubbers 150 in series) configured to further remove particulate and particular gases (e.g., acidic gases such as Sulfur dioxide and hydrochloric acid) from the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199. The gas scrubber 150 can follow the spray tower 140 in the exhaust gas channel 130 as shown in FIG. 5.

9. Centrifuge

As shown in FIGS. 6, 8, and 9, the system 100 can also include an in-line centrifuge 180, coupled (i.e., connected) to the exhaust gas channel 130 inline between the spray tower 140 and the gas scrubber 150 105. In this implementation, pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can be diverted from the exhaust gas channel 130 into the centrifuge 180 via a channel linking the exhaust gas channel 130 to an inlet of the centrifuge 180 In this implementation, the centrifuge 180 can be configured to remove sediment and particulate from the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 and cooperate with other filtration methods executed by the system 100 to yield high-quality, low-sediment pyrolytic oil 197. The centrifuge 180 can spin (or otherwise apply centrifugal forces) the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 to separate higher density materials (e.g., solid carbonaceous material 195, metals 192, and condensed pyrolytic oil 197) from lower density materials (e.g., gas and light oil) within the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199. In this implementation, the intermediate centrifuging serves to remove sediment and material that may pass through and/or clog filters, such as waxes and gums. Additionally, the centrifuge 180 can function to remove lower density materials, such as water, from the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199. Following centrifuging, a remaining portion pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 in vapor-phase can be fed back into the exhaust gas channel 130 through a via coupling an outlet of the centrifuge 180 to the exhaust gas channel 130.

Alternatively, the in-line centrifuge 180 can be coupled (i.e., connected) to the exhaust gas channel 130 following the first gas scrubber 150 and/or the second gas scrubber 150.

10. Gas-Oil Separation

As shown in FIG. 6, the system 100 can include a vapor-liquid separator 142 (or “knock out pot”) configured to separate vapor-phase pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 from liquid-phase synthetic gas. Generally, the vapor-liquid separator 142 (i.e., a “knockout pot” or “flash drum”) slowly cools the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199, causing a portion of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 to transition from vapor-phase to liquid-phase. The pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can incrementally condense into liquid-phase over time as the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 cools.

The portion of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 that condenses first yields a so-called “heavy oil” characterized by a high density and low flashpoint. A portion of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 that condenses later yields a so-called “light oil” characterized by a low density and higher flashpoint. Generally, the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can be condensed (or distilled) incrementally at discrete locations along the length of the exhaust gas channel 130 to yield differentiated cuts of oil, such as heavy oil from the light oil.

In one implementation shown in FIG. 6, the system 100 can deposit the liquid-phase pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 into a heavy oil tank 192 to form a cut of heavy oil in liquid phase. As describe above, the heavy oil tank 192 can include a filter and/or a centrifuge 180 configured to filter from the heavy oil solid particulate and/or portions of pyrolytic oil 197 denser than a threshold heavy oil density. Within the heavy oil tank 192, the heavy oil can also be cooled to a particular temperature (e.g., ambient temperature). In one implementation, heavy oil can be extracted directly from the pyrolytic reactor 110. In another implementation, heavy oil can be collected from the exhaust gas channel 130 at a location downstream from the pyrolytic reactor 110 (i.e., offset by a distance).

Additionally or alternatively, the system 100 can include a second condenser 160 configured to condense a first portion of the vapor-phase synthetic gas form a cut of light oil in liquid-phase.

In one implementation, a decanter 187 can decant water from the cut of light oil to increase the purity of the light oil. Water within light oil will evaporate before light oil when a mixture of light oil and water is heated; this can cause corrosion (e.g., rusting) of machinery and/or containers in which the mixture is contained. Thus, the decanter 187 remove water from the light oil due to differences in density between light oil and water. Water may appear within the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 following pyrolysis if small amounts of oxygen are present during pyrolysis (feasible if the pyrolysis channel is under an imperfect vacuum).

11. Compressor

The system 100 can include also a compressor configured to compress the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 into gas tanks. The compressor can be coupled to the exhaust gas channel 130 at an outlet of the exhaust gas channel 130 (i.e., following the gas scrubbers 150, the wet scrubber 140, and the centrifuge 180).

12. Combustor & Heat Generation

As shown in FIG. 7, the system 100 can recycle the (filtered, cooled, and compressed) pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 through the system 100 to generate heat within heating elements 112 in the pyrolytic reactor 110. In one implementation, the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can flow into heating channels surrounding external walls of the pyrolytic reactor 110 and can transfer heat from the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 into the pyrolytic reactor 110. The pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can also be combusted (or burned) within the heating elements 112 to induce further exothermic reactions and transfer of heat from the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 into the pyrolytic reactor 110.

Additionally or alternatively, the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 can enter a gas-powered turbine and/or other machine that transforms chemical energy of the pyrolytic synthetic gas 199 into mechanical work and/or electrical current, such as to power the reamer 132, conveyor of the pyrolytic reactor 110, and/or other mechanisms within the system 100.

The system 100 can additionally or alternatively include a combustor 170 (or flare 170) configured to combust a remaining portion of vapor-phase gas.

13. Oil Post-Processing

Additionally or alternatively, the system 100 can include pyrolytic oil 197 post-processing steps to alter the chemical makeup and/or performance of the pyrolytic oil 197 in certain applications after the pyrolytic oil 197 is condensed and cooled. For example, pyrolytic oil 197 can be post-processed to increase flashpoint, reduce sulfur content, modify composition, and/or reduce solid deposits within the pyrolytic oil 197 for improved performance (e.g., increased turbomachinery efficiency and/or lubrication) and/or use in particular applications.

The systems and methods of the embodiments can be embodied and/or implemented at least in part as a machine configured to receive a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions. The instructions can be executed by computer-executable components integrated with the application, applet, host, server, network, website, communication service, communication interface, native application, frame, iframe, hardware/firmware/software elements of a user computer or mobile device, or any suitable combination thereof. Other systems and methods of the embodiments can be embodied and/or implemented at least in part as a machine configured to receive a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions. The instructions can be executed by computer-executable components integrated by computer-executable components integrated with apparatuses and networks of the type described above. The computer-readable medium can be stored on any suitable computer readable media such as RAMs, ROMs, flash memory, EEPROMs, optical devices (CD or DVD), hard drives, floppy drives, or any suitable device. The computer-executable component can be a processor, though any suitable dedicated hardware device can (alternatively or additionally) execute the instructions.

As a person skilled in the art will recognize from the previous detailed description and from the figures and claims, modifications and changes can be made to the embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims. 

I claim:
 1. A method for converting tires into pyrolytic oil and pyrolytic synthetic gas comprising: in a pyrolytic reactor, thermally depolymerizing a volume of rubber extracted from tires within an inert atmosphere into a set of pyrolytic byproducts comprising pyrolytic synthetic gas and solid carbonaceous material, heating elements within the pyrolytic reactor regulating temperature within the pyrolytic reactor; extracting the pyrolytic synthetic gas from the pyrolytic reactor via an exhaust gas channel; within a centrifuge, removing from the pyrolytic synthetic gas residual solid carbonaceous material carried over from the pyrolytic reactor into the exhaust gas channel; within a vapor-liquid separator, separating vapor-phase pyrolytic synthetic gas from liquid-phase synthetic gas; depositing the liquid-phase synthetic gas into a heavy oil tank to form a cut of heavy oil in liquid phase; condensing a first portion of the vapor-phase synthetic gas in a light oil condenser to form a cut of light oil in liquid-phase; decanting excess water from the cut of light oil; combusting a second portion of vapor-phase gas within a combustor; and recycling a third portion pyrolytic synthetic gas into the heating elements within the pyrolytic reactor to heat the pyrolytic reactor.
 2. A system for converting tires into pyrolytic oil and pyrolytic synthetic gas comprising: a pyrolysis channel configured to accept rubber extracted from waste tires; a heating element configured to heat a bottom portion of the pyrolysis channel and induce incremental thermal decomposition of the rubber within the pyrolysis channel as the rubber translates within the pyrolysis channel under vacuum forming pyrolytic byproducts comprising pyrolytic synthetic gas and carbonaceous solid material; a exhaust gas channel configured to direct the pyrolytic synthetic gas out of the pyrolysis channel at an exit velocity that induces carryover of less carbonaceous solid material than a threshold mass of carbonaceous solid material, the exhaust gas channel comprising a reamer configured to ream the exhaust gas channel at an interval to remove build-up of the carbonaceous solid material and condense pyrolytic synthetic gas within the exhaust gas channel and prevent oil fouling, the exhaust gas channel of a length corresponding to a desired residence time of the pyrolytic synthetic gas proportional to a time to cool the pyrolytic synthetic gas to a particular temperature prior to exiting the exhaust gas channel, the time to cool dependent on a velocity of the pyrolytic synthetic gas within the exhaust gas channel and a composition of the pyrolytic synthetic gas; and a condensation system configured to condense a portion of the pyrolytic synthetic gas into liquid-phase oil. 